The present invention relates generally to pneumatically operated projectile launchers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electro-magnetically operated bolt configuration for use in firearms and other projectile launchers, such as pneumatically operated projectile launchers.
In general, in the prior art, it is well known to utilize a pneumatically operated projectile launcher to propel a projectile at a target. Further, such a device is typically referred to as either a paintball gun or a marker. Accordingly, for the purpose of this application, the term marker will be utilized throughout this application to define a paintball gun or a pneumatically operated projectile launcher. While the present invention is discussed in connection with paintball guns, it has application in any type of projectile launching device.
There are a wide variety of markers available in the prior art having different configurations and manners of operation. Regardless of the configuration or mode of operation utilized by any particular marker, the general purpose of the marker is to utilize pneumatic force to launch a fragile spherical projectile containing colored marker dye, known as a paintball, at a target. When the paintball impacts upon the target, the paintball bursts releasing the marker dye onto the target thereby providing visual feedback that the target was, in fact, hit by the paintball. In this regard, before the paintball can be launched by the marker, a paintball must be first loaded into the firing chamber or breech of the marker in preparation for the release of a burst of air that ultimately launches the paintball.
FIGS. 1-3 generally illustrate the paintball loading operation of a prior art marker 10. The marker 10 can be seen to include a breech 14, a barrel 16 extending from one side of the breech 14, a reciprocating bolt 18 that is slidably received in the breech 14 in alignment with the barrel 16 and a feed port 20 to allow paintballs 12 to be loaded into the breech 14 of the marker 10. In operation, paintballs 12 are loaded in to the barrel 16 of the marker 10 by means of the bolt 18. The bolt 18 is arranged to move back and forth below the feed port 20 allowing paintballs 12 to pass, one at a time, through the feed port 20 and into the breech 14. The bolt 18 then moves forward, pushing the paintball 12 into the barrel 16 opening. Generally, these prior art devices rely on either manual operation of the bolt, mechanical valves or electronic solenoid valves that alternately switch compressed gas back and forth between the two sides of a double-acting pneumatic cylinder to move the bolt 18 for loading the paintballs 12. Such prior art pneumatic actuation of a bolt is well known in the art and need not be discussed in detail herein.
In order to illustrate the operation of the bolt 18, FIGS. 1-3 show a cross-sectional view of the breech 14 of a prior art marker 10 that includes a reciprocating bolt mechanism 18. In FIG. 1 the bolt 18 is show at rest in a position that would result immediately after firing a paintball 12 or prior to loading the initial paintball 12. Turning now to FIG. 2, the bolt 18 is shown after being moved in a rearward position. With the bolt 18 in this position, the feed port 20 is opened to allow a paintball 12 to drop into the breech 14. FIG. 3 then shows the bolt 18 after it has returned to the forward position having pushed the paintball 12 into the opening of the barrel 16, where it can be propelled by a pneumatic charge down the barrel 16 and launched out of the marker 10.
The difficulty is that markers that rely on mechanically or pneumatically driven reciprocating bolts suffer from mechanical limitations that inherently limit the maximum rate of fire that the marker can achieve. Specifically, the ultimate cycle speed of a pneumatically operated bolt is limited by the speed at which the solenoids in the air system can be sequentially opened and closed.
There is therefore a need for a bolt mechanism that overcomes the inherent limitations found in the prior art, thereby allowing the bolt mechanism to cycle faster, ultimately resulting in a marker that has a higher firing rate. There is a further need for a bolt mechanism that can be more precisely controlled than prior art bolts.